"Now, entertain me!!"
Franklin's energy soared as layers of dark grey flesh coated his body. His mouth cracked widely revealing rows of sharp teeth. His entire body had grown larger as armored-like flesh covered him. His legs were as large as an elephant's leg and there was a thick long tail with various spikes sticking out on his back. His left arm was different from normal. His hand up to his elbow was replaced by three huge blades.
His aura was blowing all the dust and smoke around him. His bloodlust was overflowing and it was pressuring the entire area. Just one look at him and they would feel the intense bloodlust coming out of his body.
Whoosh!!
Souta squinted his eyes and said, "Alice, prepare to stop the match at any moment. The old guy Franklin is getting absorbed in the battle. I'm afraid that he will not be able to hold himself."
"Yeah, he didn't even hide his killing intent anymore. It's too strong that it paralyzed some of the weak-willed people." Alice nodded at his words.
The crowd went silent after seeing the overwhelming bloodlust. They felt like they were standing in front of an apex predator.
"What the hell is that parasite transformation?!" Ren said in shock. His opponent didn't resemble a human nor demi at all.
He knew that Franklin had great control of the parasite but this was too much. It feels like it was an entirely new different species.
Suddenly, his aura skyrocketed and flames surged out of his body without warning.
He subconsciously activated his [Element Drive].
Ren spun back urgently and lifted his arms.
BANG!!!
A blinding flash of blueish light spun through the air, roaring and howling madly before it slammed into his arms.
The deafening collision resulted in a ring-shaped shockwave to spread out in every direction. The flames on his body were extinguished instantly and even with his [Element Drive], he was blown away.
The blueish light carried such great force that ripped the skin and muscles on his arms. If not for his soul weapon, both of his arms would be gone right now.
Szzzz...
Ren coughed madly as blood gushed out of his mouth. Fortunately, the parasite quickly tends to his injuries closing all the fatal wounds around him.
Shhh...
Flames emerged on his body once again as he lifted his head and looked at his opponent. Franklin was standing not far away from him and the three huge blades in his arm were out of shape from the intense friction and collision. Black smoke was out from his boiling body.
"W-What was that?" Ren muttered to himself as he stood up with all of his might. Right now, most of his injuries had recovered due to the ability of the parasite.
"[Mad Demon Warrior]... One of the highest-level combat arts that I've learned in Athen's Champion." Franklin said as his body recovered from injuries and blueish light arose.
He swung the thick savage tail, slowly took a step forward with his sturdy-looking leg, and gave a further explanation, "This is a combat art design to use with [Element Drive]. A lot of warriors failed to master this art due to its side effects. It's destroying my body when activated but since I have a parasite, I can negate the side effect using its ability."
Ren didn't do anything. He's letting Franklin explain it to him so that he would have a time to recover a little bit of his strength.
In exchange for extreme physical ability that complimented the [Element Drive], Franklin's organs were being corroded every second.
"It took me a lot of time for me to learn this art. If you have nothing else to show me then I'm going to end this battle." Franklin slightly bent his thick giant legs. With a loud sound, he pounced forward with great momentum.
Whoosh!!
"Damn!!" Ren roared as he swung his arm which was covered in extreme flames.
[Great Demolition Fist]!!
The flames in his fist roared and howled as if it was about to destroy everything. The heat from the flames caused the floor to melt.
His soul weapon glowed as it further increased the power within his fist.
BOOM!!
When the two monstrous forces struck each other, a wave of energy exploded from the source of impact. The power within devastated the arena, leaving only a pile of debris.
BANG!!
The two continued to throw their overwhelming attacks at each other. They wrestled in mid-air before their figures crashed on the ground like a meteorite shaking the entire earth.
Ren only lasted for a few minutes before bursting open, a bloody mist covered his whole body. A terrifying tremor and force assaulted his body once again.
"ARGH!!!"
The regenerative power of his parasite couldn't keep up anymore. He squeezed his fist and a great power began to emerge in his arm. It flowed into his fist before throwing a horrendous punch that shook thee entire area.
"Ehe~" Franklin's mouth turned into a nasty grin before he raised his right arm.
Ren's fist slammed into his arm turning it into a puddle of blood and it quickly evaporated into thin air due to the extreme heat.
Then, he swung his left hand accompanied by three giant blades.
[Dominating Mad Slash]!!
Energy blades emerged in the space as they sliced Ren's body. Blood poured nonstop, followed by a heat wave that smashed Franklin's body.
BANG!!
Franklin crashed on the ground. He quickly got up using his tail, squeezing his energy into his arm. He was about to attack but suddenly felt something in his body.
"...?! This...?"
He stopped on his track as the vicious bloodlust suddenly disappeared.
"Ugh!" Ren coughed as he forced his head to look at Franklin. He forced his eyes open. Although his face was swollen, he could still see his opponent.
He was wondering why Franklin stopped but his vision slowly turned blur. He fell but forced his bloody arms to prevent himself from falling with his face first.
A figure landed in front of him. It was the person who was beside the leader, Alice.
"You can stop now," Alice said to him.
"Huh?" Ren lifted his face before he collapsed. Exhaustion finally washed over him, who slowly fell asleep.
Alice sighed looking at Ren. Then, she turned around and her gaze linger around Franklin. Franklin's body returned to normal as the intense fluctuation disappeared.
She narrowed her eyes as Eztein and Eilish appeared beside her.
"He's about to reach the level above." Eilish opened her mouth.
"Haha, this battle pushed him and it let him sense the shackles." Eztein laughed lightly. Once a mortal sensed a shackle they could prepare themselves and tackle it.
Alice listened to them as she waved her hand and transferred Ren out of the arena. The winner of this battle was decided but since Franklin reached a crucial point of his breakthrough, they had to postpone the announcement first.
Boom!!
The ground shook giving off the rumbling sound of thunder. The energy around Franklin surged upward but it was blocked by a barrier. The power of his mana continued to increase and every wave of energy contained his vast element power.
"He's about to break it, let me give you a hand," Eilish said as a loud crackling sound echoed in the area.
She lightly stepped forward and pressed her palm on Franklin's head. Her energy lingered around Franklin as it slowly guides him. She was only giving him a way to break the shackle. It wouldn't do anything well if she helped him in breaking his shackle since both of them have different energy signatures. In fact, it would only harm him if her mana pried in Franklin's shackles at this crucial moment.
"Did he have enough energy to pull this through? He just undergo a battle so his energy reserve..." Eztein didn't finish his sentence as the crackling sound grew louder.
If a person didn't have enough energy to break the shackle then they would fail the ascension. It would only injure and damage their energy pool. It was a backlash that not many people wanted to experience.
BAM!!
A deafening sound broke out along with a tremendous force that swept out in the entire field. It was a like broken dam as tides of energy kept gushing out with tremendous force.
"He achieved it," Alice said in a low voice.
Szzz...
Element power sizzled in the atmosphere as Franklin slowly opened his eyes. When he opened his mouth, white smoke seeped out as the wind particles around him slowly died down.
"Ah~ the characteristic of strength... It suited my style."
He examined his body and found that his physical strength alone was several times stronger in the past. He could also feel that he could grow stronger this time as if some sort of barrier was broken.
"This..."
A wide grin slowly crept on his face. He lifted his face and gazed at the people around him. He felt overwhelming power inside his body. He wanted to release it.
Suddenly, Franklin swung his fist toward the nearest person in front of him.
"Help me release my power!!"
